Thursday, August 5, 2010

Picture if you can, 1,000 clowns riding bicycles through the streets of Denver. Sounds a bit creepy, right!?

Last week, I was one of those clowns, and it was awesome!

Denver Cruisers has got to be one of the most fun things I have ever participated in. Every Wednesday hundreds, if not thousands of people get all decked out according to themes like, “bubble wrap, duct tape, and cardboard,” Knights and nighties,” “hobos and hillbillies,” and “Pirates, Sea Men, and Mermaids.” Then they grab a 6-pack and hop on their bikes headed for a wild ride. This is not merely a bike ride, this is a full on bike-party. Last Wednesday, at about 6:00, Ashley came over to my place to get ready to head out for the evening. This weeks’ theme was “clowns.” With a little face paint, some fancy socks, and a pair of suspenders, we spent the next 45 minutes sipping a cocktail and transforming ourselves into some pretty cute clowns.

Then, we were off to Jess, Robin, and Matt’s place where we met up with 7 other clowns for a little pre-gaming action.

Another cocktail and 30 minutes of catch phrase later, and we were ready to head out to Casselman’s bar to get the party started. As Matt loaded up the saddle bags of my bike with a 12-pack, everyone else grabbed their own “road sodas” and we were and headed to the streets.

Instead of water bottles, our bikes toted Busch Light tall boys for the 15 minute ride through the city, all the while, Jess’s portable MP3 player was broadcasting two albums worth of clown circus music purchased earlier that day on iTunes.

The night had just started and already I was having a blast. As we approached Casselman’s bar – the starting point for the weekly cruise – our 10 person group began to pick up members. By the time we arrived at the bar, we were travelling in a pack of 15-20 people, but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw next. The street outside of Casselman’s was packed with 100’s of bikes and the inside looked like a clown convention gone bad. PBR tall boys were on sale for $2.25 each and 4 or 5 tables were set up for beer pong and flip cup.

We hung out for about an hour, and good times were had by all!

Ashley and Justin

group shot at the beer pong table

the sisters, jess and robin, were two of the creepiest clowns out that night

Finally, it was time for the actual bike ride - we all hopped onto our bikes and made our way through town. The destination was the "circle of death" at Civic Park near the capitol. I have to say that I'm glad I was on a bike and not in a car because the traffic was moving painfully slow and I would not have been a happy camper if I was actually trying to drive through that mess! We sat at some intersections through 5 or 6 green lights before it was finally our turn to move on, but we had music playing all the while and everyone was having a good time.

Finally, after what seemed like a pretty long bike ride, we made it to the circle of death. Again, I was just astounded! Even after seeing all of the bikes and people at the bar, and then riding down the road with that incredible mass of bicycles, I still could not believe how many people had congregated at Civic Park. It was incredible.

Mostly people just loitered around, hanging out, sipping on beers, and having a good time, but there was also a significant amount of people who were partaking in the infamous "circle of death." These people were all riding around and around in circles inside the amphitheater at Civic Park. I was absolutely AMAZED that there were no serious accidents!!! Especially since Jess was walking through the circle backwards in an attempt to creep out the riders! (which I think she succeeded in doing)

Although many or even most of the people out at the park were headed back to the bar after the circle of death, this was where we ended our evening. We hung out at the park for a while chatting away and taking in the whole scene, but around 12 or 12:30 we decided it was time for to take ourselves home. It was a Wednesday night after all, and most of us (present company excluded) had to get up for work the next morning.

I have to say dressing up in costume with a massive group or people and riding around on bicycles is an absolute blast. Throw a bar and a couple beers into the mix and you have the makings of a fantastic Wednesday night! I don't know who thought of this whole thing, but it's absolutely fabulous and it's something that I will definitely be partaking in again!

Who is Raz?

"Every man has his own destiny; the only imperative is to follow it, to accept it, no matter where it leads him."
~ Henry Miller
Hi, I'm Razzelberry! World traveler and Denver Yogi. My most recent adventure was completing a 200 hour yoga teacher training program.